Scroll saw wrench

ABSTRACT

A wrench for rapid and safe adjustment of a scroll saw blade retaining clamp screw. The wrench provides a parallel guide pin attached to the wrench. The guide pin is inserted into a hole in the blade retaining clamp jaws, aligning and supporting the wrench head relative to the clamp screw.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the scroll saw art and moreparticularly to a specialized wrench structure for quickly releasing thescroll saw blade.

As is known in the art, a screw is used to clamp the scroll saw bladeinto the blade retention jaws of a scroll saw. This screw may beadjusted with hand held tools such as hex-head wrenches. These wrenchesmake contact only with the clamp screw and depend on the user tocarefully maintain the alignment. The user's concentration must befocused on the wrench alignment, at the expense of other tasks.Misalignment results in accelerated wear on the retention screw andwrench head. Additionally, hexagonal wrenches come in a wide variety ofsizes. Accidental use of the wrong size wrench will also acceleratewear. Finally, a hexagonal wrench is generally constructed from a singlepiece of hexagonal shaped extrusion, with an L-shaped bend for a handle.Consequently, to compensate for distortion from rotational torque, thelength of wrenches with smaller cross sections is limited. The prior artaddressed these problems by providing a separate pin for stabilizing theblade chuck while the operator used a conventional T-handle wrench toadjust the clamp screw.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In contrast to the prior art, the present invention provides a wrenchwith a handle for applying torque, attached to a guide pin. Theprinciple object of the invention is to provide a wrench which is easyto use quickly to permit improved productivity. The wrench includes aguide pin that aligns and supports the wrench relative to the clampscrew for rapid and safe adjustment to the clamp screw. The guide pin isattached parallel to the wrench by two or more brackets. The bracketsallow the wrench to rotate freely. The blade clamp structure has a holeinto which the guide pin is inserted. The distance between the hole inthe blade housing and the clamp screw is the same as that between theguide pin and the wrench head. The guide pin is inserted into the bladeclamp structure, which positions the wrench for easy and rapid operationwith one hand and minimizes misalignment that leads to accelerated wearof the clamp screw. The added support provided by the guide also allowsfor a longer handle on the wrench by reinforcing the wrench againstrotational distortion, even for wrenches with a small cross section. Thelonger handle also keeps the operator's hand a more convenient distancefrom the saw blade and the work piece.

Another object of the invention is to prevent the wrong sized wrenchfrom being used by accident, on a clamp screw. In machines which use twoor more distinct types of clamp screws, the distance between the guidepin and the wrench assembly is intentionally made different for eachtype of tool. If the user attempts to use the wrong wrench, the distancebetween the guide pin and the wrench head is such that the wrench headwill not align with the clamp screw, thereby preventing the wrong wrenchfrom mistakenly being used.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wrench which stabilizesthe blade chuck while the clamp screw is adjusted to prevent bending ofthe blade.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent upon reading of the following detailed specificationsand drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partial cut away side viewof the scroll saw wrench engaged in the scroll saw blade retainingstructure.

FIG. 2 is a partial cut away side view of an alternate embodiment of thescroll saw wrench engaged in the scroll saw blade retaining structure.

FIG. 3 is a partial cut away side view of an alternate embodiment of thescroll saw wrench engaged in the scroll saw blade retaining structure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The Figure shows a scroll saw wrench 15 for adjusting a scroll saw bladeclamp screw 2, including a body member 6 with a hexagonal shaped head 5on one end and a L-shaped handle 7 for applying rotational torque on theother. The guide pin 4 is attached parallel by the use of two spacedbrackets 8 and 9. The wrench portion of the tool is prevented fromsliding out of the brackets by collar 10, located at one bracket 8.

Although the invention is disclosed in the context of a hexagonal shapedwrench head 5, it should be clear that other fastener heads may besubstituted without departing from the scope of the invention.Alternative wrench heads include, but are not limited to, hexagonal 5,phillips, star 14, and slotted 13 configurations.

Likewise, the invention is disclosed in the context of a L-shaped handleconfigurations 7. It is equally clear that other handles arecontemplated, which do not depart from the scope of the invention.Alternative handles include, but are not limited to, T-shaped 11, crankand knob 12 configurations.

The guide pin 4 extends beyond the end of the hexagonal shaped head 5and is inserted into the hole in the scroll saw blade clamp jaws 3,without engaging the clamp screw 2. The hexagonal shaped head 5 is thenaligned with the scroll saw clamp screw 2 and engaged. When the guidepin 4 is completely inserted in the scroll saw blade clamp jaws hole 3,the scroll saw wrench is accurately aligned and self-supporting. Theclamp screw 2 is adjusted by applying torque to handle 7.

In machines which use two or more distinct types of clamp screws 2, thedistance 11 between the centerline of the guide pin 4 and the wrenchhead 5 is intentionally varied for each type of tool. If the userattempts to use the wrong wrench, the wrench head 5 will not align withthe clamp screw 2 because the distance 9 between the centerline of theguide pin 4 and the wrench head 5 is not equal to the distance 9.

What is claimed is:
 1. A scroll saw wrench for adjusting a bladeretention clamp screw on a scroll saw blade clamp jaws with a guidehole, adjacent to the clamp screw, comprising:a body member havingadjustment means for rotationally adjusting said clamp screw, and havingmeans for applying rotational torque to said adjustment means; an offsetguide member for aligning said body member with said clamp screw, saidoffset guide member providing rotational support to said body member andextending beyond the end of the adjustment means whereby said wrench isself-supporting when said guide member is inserted into said scroll sawblade clamp jaws; attachment means for holding said body member in anoffset parallel and spaced relationship to said guide member and forallowing rotational movement of said body member.
 2. A scroll saw wrenchaccording to claim 1 wherein said adjustment means comprises;a hexshaped wrench head for rotationally adjusting said clamp screw.
 3. Ascroll saw wrench according to claim 1 wherein said adjustment meanscomprises;a slotted screw wrench head for rotationally adjusting saidclamp screw.
 4. A scroll saw wrench according to claim 1 wherein saidadjustment means comprises;a six-pointed star shaped wrench head forrotationally adjusting said clamp screw.
 5. A scroll saw wrenchaccording to claim 1 wherein said means for applying rotational torquecomprises;a manually operated handle means coupled to said body member.6. A scroll saw wrench according to claim 5 wherein said handle meansfor applying rotational torque to said body member comprises;an L-shapedhandle.
 7. A scroll saw wrench according to claim 5 wherein said handlemeans for applying rotational torque to said body member comprises aT-shaped handle.
 8. A scroll saw wrench according to claim 5 whereinsaid handle means for applying rotational torque to said body membercomprises;a knob shaped handle.